Then It Comes To Be
by alexis9
Summary: The Coming has arrived, and the transgenics and the familiars wage war for control of Seattle.
1. Default Chapter

The breeding cult launched their attack on Seattle five days after the siege at Terminal City began. It was easier than anticipated to seize control of the city, despite the number of military in the area and the heightened state of alert among the city police. All eyes were on the transgenics' compound, and the city was caught by surprise. Strategic sites were stormed and taken within the hour – city hall, police headquarters, sector checkpoints. Once the cult had control of the sector police weaponry, they sent the hover drones out to disperse the crowds and clear the streets. A lot of civilians died in the onslaught. 

The transgenics were blamed, which was hardly surprising, given how the city felt about the transgenics at the time.

----*----


	2. Persuasion

Shortly after the attack began, Donald Lydecker drove his black SUV into the army compound outside Terminal City. He flashed his old army ID at the guard at the gate. It was out of date, but the harried guard just glanced at his rank and waved him through. The mood in the camp was tense. Men and equipment were on the move, preparing for the counter-assault. There wasn't much time. Lydecker headed straight for the command center. He walked through the door with his briefcase as if he had every right to be there and announced, "I'm Colonel Donald Lydecker. I was in charge of Project Manticore. I need to speak to the commander."

The guards looked at him in suspicion. The commander wasn't expecting visitors, especially not now and especially not someone affiliated with the transgenics. One of the two levelled his gun at Lydecker while the other hurried to inform the commander's aide. Several tense moments later the aide came running and escorted Lydecker to the commander's office. If the transgenics were behind this attack, their former CO would prove to be an invaluable resource.

The commander strode forward to greet Lydecker, clearly frustrated and angry. He'd thought he had the transgenics pinned down in that godforsaken toxic zone, but somehow they'd taken over the city at his back. His men were now caught between two rebel forces, and he was not happy. "Colonel, what the hell is going on? What are these freaks up to?"

"My kids are not behind this," Lydecker said vehemently. "I know all of my kids by sight, and they are not involved."

"And I'm just supposed to take your word for this?" the commander scoffed.

"The X-5s were the first series that could pass for fully human," Lydecker pointed out. "The oldest of them wasn't born until 2000, and most of them are younger. The aggressors are all at least 5 or 10 years older than that."

The commander's eyes flicked over to the surveillance footage. Reluctantly he agreed that the attackers did look to be older than 20 by several years at least. He glanced speculatively at Lydecker. He weighed his options, not yet ready to commit his men to a course of action that would most certainly result in many deaths on both sides. Not on the basis of what little information he had available.

His thoughts were interrupted by a technician. "Sir, someone just hacked into our communication system. We have an incoming signal. Looks like it's coming from inside the compound."

The commander gestured roughly at Lydecker to move out of the camera's line of sight and barked, "not a word!" Then he turned to face the video screen. An image of the female leader, 452, filled the screen. 

Max looked him in the eye and said "Despite what you think, those men are not transgenics. We are not behind this! But we do know who is."

The commander's eyes narrowed. "Go on," he said, noncommittally.

"They're human. They're part of a cult that's been selectively breeding humans for thousands of years, trying to perfect-"

The commander cut her off. "A breeding cult. Come off it, 452," he scoffed, irritated that she didn't even bother to come up with a convincing lie. "Stop wasting my time. I'll deal with you later, after I've taken care of your friends."

"Test their DNA! They're human!" Max said, desperately trying to keep the commander's attention. She had to convince him the transgenics weren't the real threat, or the tanks would open fire on Terminal City. "The whole concept is fucked, I know, but it's the truth. We're sending you all the information we have on the cult."

The technician said, "Confirmed, sir. They are transmitting data files."

The commander glared at Max. "If you're not involved, how do you know so damn much about it?"

"They've been hunting us for months. We're their biggest threat. They want us dead. They're trying to provoke you into attacking the compound and killing us."

"Fine. I'll look at your information, 452. But it had better be worth my time!"

"I'm not trying to play you," she promised. "There's something else you should know. Special Agent Ames White is one of them. He has a mark on the inside of his arm. It's a caduceus – two snakes wound around a stick. They all have one." Max scribbled the image on a piece of paper and held it up to the camera. "He's gonna try to get your men to fire on Terminal City. We can't help you if we're dead."

"I'll be in touch," the commander said gruffly, and signalled to the technician to cut the feed.

----*----

Half an hour later the commander re-opened communication with Terminal City. As soon as Max came on screen, the commander said "Agent White declined to have his arm examined. He took out three of my men. The survivors said he moved like one of you."

"But he's not."

"So I've been informed by an independent source."

"Commander, your men are no match for the cult. We are. We took on the best they had, and won. Let us help."

The commander nodded, somewhat reluctantly. "Agreed. You'll team up with my men. We'll move out in a standard sweep pattern. Flush out the enemy sector by sector and then-"

"Commander!" she interrupted. "That'll take too long. We work faster on our own."

"I'm in charge here, 452!" the commander said curtly, unused to having his orders challenged.

"You don't even know what we're capable of! Let us handle this our way. You'll get better results."

The commander stared at her for several seconds before answering. "What would you suggest?"

"We go in first as roving units. Your men establish a perimeter and tighten the net. We'll call for backup if we need it."

The commander nodded thoughtfully, and turned to look at someone off camera. "Well?" he asked.

"It's what I would do," replied Lydecker.

"Is that Colonel Lydecker?" Max asked, astonished.

Lydecker moved into view. "Hello, Max."

Max gave him a hard stare. "You're not our CO anymore, Deck," she said coldly.

"I can see that," he replied. "Just remember what I taught you. Never turn your back on the enemy."

Max nodded and then turned away from the camera to face the assembled transgenics. They were ranked up in their old units and were awaiting her orders. 

"Listen up people," she said. "We're going to war and this is how we're gonna play it. X-5s and X-6s, this is Search and Destroy time. We're going in hard and fast and we're gonna take these bastards out. X-7s, defend the compound. X-8s, you'll liaison with the army. Lead em to the hot spots. Any questions?"

"No ma'am," they answered with one voice. Max's heart swelled with pride. This is what they had been designed and trained to do, and they would do their job well. White and his familiars would regret this day.

Max turned back and faced the camera. "Commander, I'm sending you a unit of X-8s to liaison with your men. Do not underestimate them. They may be children, but even the youngest could take you out without blinking."

"Understood," the commander said. "My men will be waiting at the gate with equipment. Good luck."

----*----


	3. Resistance

Max, Alec, Logan, Mole and Joshua huddled around the table, a large-scale map of Seattle in front of them. Max pointed to the city center. "They're concentrated in the city core. Mole, Joshua, you take half the units and head out clockwise. Alec and I will take the rest and go counter. We'll meet up downtown. And take the hover drones out fast, or else they'll keep us pinned down all night." 

Max turned to Logan with a determined look on her face. She didn't have time to argue with him. "I need you here. I need to know what they're up to."

Logan swallowed his objections. A skirmish was one thing, but this was all-out war. He didn't have the training or the skills to be able to protect her during battle. The best he could do was keep her informed of how things stood. He nodded and handed them all com links. She smiled and walked over to the waiting units with Mole and Joshua.

"Be careful, Max," Logan called softly after her.

"I always am," she said over her shoulder. Logan heard Mole ordering the transgenics to split into two squads, alpha and beta. The squads were then subdivided into smaller units, with the X-6s under the command of the older, more experienced X-5s and transhumans.

Logan turned to face Alec. "Don't worry," he said before Logan could open his mouth. "I've got her back." Alec's eyes were hard as flint – the eyes of a killer. Logan shivered, slightly afraid of the grim look on Alec's face. Logan could tell by his expression that the transgenic was unafraid to die, and would if it came to that. 

Alec walked a few steps away from Logan and scanned the waiting units. He needed backup he could trust. He gestured to a group of X-6s he recognized from Manticore. He'd been their commander on a couple of training missions and knew their capabilities. The X-6s saw Alec's sign and snapped to attention, proud to have been signalled out by the second-in-command. "Reporting for duty, sir," the eldest said.

Alec looked them each in the face as he spoke. "Max is the only one who can end this. So our mission objective is to keep her alive, no matter what." 

"Understood, sir!" they answered in unison, without hesitation. Alec kept his face expressionless, but inside he cringed. He'd just nominated them for a possible suicide watch. But there was no other choice. Max was too important to lose.

"Let's do this," he said.

Max led the way to the gate, Alec falling in step beside her. The transgenics followed their leaders in perfect precision. Logan was awed by the sheer power emanating from them, even the youngest. Until this day the transgenics had tried to hide their abilities and act normal. It was an imperfect disguise – most people were wary around them, even if they weren't sure why – but at least they passed for human if they tried. Now all pretence was gone and they marched forth as soldiers. Their eyes were cold and hard, their gaze calculating, like predators waiting for the perfect moment to strike. They were Death marching. They would never break and never falter. Logan couldn't imagine a force on earth that could withstand them. He felt a surge of hope that maybe they would win this thing after all.

At the gate the army handed each transgenic a gun and a camo jacket. A small X had been hurriedly painted in red on the left shoulder of each jacket.

"What the hell is this?" Max demanded. "A bulls-eye?"

The soldier responded nervously, "Orders, ma'am. We have to know who's who." Max rolled her eyes but gestured for the soldiers to finish equipping her men. One by one, the units disappeared into the darkness. It was two hours after sunset.

----*----

Battle raged through the streets all night. At times the X-series cleared whole blocks easily, only to be pinned down and have to fight for each painful step forward. As the night wore on, Max seemed to develop an uncanny ability to sense where the cult members were – not only which buildings they were holed up in but how many were there. Through Logan, Max directed her units to intercept. Gradually they encountered fewer and fewer cult members. It seemed like they had gained the upper hand at last.

Max and Alec were crouched behind a burnt out car along with the rest of their unit. They were all wounded and tired. They'd lost the youngest in a particularly nasty gunfight a couple of hours ago. Two of the X-6s had head wounds, and the third had a couple of cracked ribs. A bullet had grazed Max's thigh, and Alec had a bad cut on his upper arm from being tossed into a glass display case. It had been a long night. Right now they were waiting for their opportunity to strike at the last group of familiars in this sector. They had barricaded themselves inside a bank. Max knew there were civilians in there too.

Silently the transgenics glided across the dim parking lot and took up position on either side of the door. Max signalled to attack. She and Alec kicked at the barred door together, and it flew open under their combined force. 

They rolled into the room and landed on their feet in an attack stance. Behind them came the rest of their unit. The familiars opened fire but hit empty air as the transgenics dived for cover. Alec and the others returned fire and Max heard several familiars go down. The last one left standing lunged for the open door but Max leapt and caught him before he got halfway across the room. They exchanged a flurry of blows. Max took a hard punch to the jaw. She spun and landed a solid kick to his midsection, and the familiar went flying into one of the concrete columns. Instantly Alec was there with a gun pointed at his head. "Live or die. Your choice," he said grimly.

The familiar tensed in readiness to spring. Alec laughed hollowly. "C'mon, give me a reason. Please," he said as his finger moved on the trigger. 

The familiar glared at the transgenics. "No matter. It comes to be. You will all be dead before the sun is up. We are the masters now. We-"

Alec darted forward and slammed him on the side of the head with the butt of his gun. The familiar slumped over, unconscious. "Shut up, already." Alec tossed his gun to the floor – he was out of bullets.

Max moved around behind the counter. Four frightened humans were cowering on the floor. One was seriously wounded, the blood pumping from a severed artery. She must have been caught in the cross-fire. 

Max gestured impatiently at the only man present. "You. Give me your belt." She crouched beside the wounded woman. "Hurry!" The woman was losing a lot of blood. Finally the man got his belt off and handed it to Max. She wrapped it around the woman's leg and cinched it tight. The make-shift tourniquet worked and the blood slowed to a trickle.

Max signalled to the belt's owner to take the strap. "Here, hold it tight. Don't let up the pressure." His fingers were trembling but he kept the pressure steady.

One of the women stared at Max, her eyes wide in fright. "I saw you on television. You're a mutant!"

"Yeah," Max said. "And me and my crew just saved your ass!" The woman flinched and dropped her gaze.

The third woman glanced around the room. The familiars were dead or unconscious. The other four transgenics were busy checking pulses. Their torn clothing revealed numerous cuts and bruises. Three of them were only teenagers, but they moved like hardened soldiers and they handled their guns with accustomed ease. The woman was frightened, but not of the transgenics. They weren't the ones who had attacked innocent bystanders, or threatened to kill hostages just for sport. She looked up at Max and asked nervously, "please, what's going on? Who were those men that attacked us?"

"The whole city is under siege. We're trying to take it back." Max stood and looked down at the wounded woman. "I'll send for help." Then she turned away from their fear and their questions and walked to the door.

The detachment of regular soldiers assigned to back them up had just arrived from securing the perimeter. Alec gave them a disgusted look. "What the hell took you so long? You're not much use to us if you can't keep up!"

"Sorry, sir." The soldier looked abashed. Despite his initial fear of the transgenics, he was impressed by their skill and training. They were tough, and they didn't back down. Plus, they were in charge. He disliked letting a commanding officer down.

Alec pointed at the cult member propped up against the pillar. "That one's still breathing."

"Yes, sir!" the soldier answered. He signalled for a second soldier to help him secure the prisoner.

Max pointed at a third soldier. "Call the paramedics. A woman's bleeding out behind the counter."

"Yes, ma'am!" he replied and reached for his radio. Max didn't know if the paramedics would make it in time to save the woman's life. She hoped so. There had already been too many casualties tonight. 

----*----


	4. Dominion

The five weary transgenics marched out into the street, ready to move on to the next fight, knowing it might be their last. No matter. It had to be done. They were going to end this tonight, whatever the cost.

Max stopped dead in the middle of the street, a strange look on her face. An image flashed into her mind of a frightened young girl lying on an altar, surrounded by hooded, leering figures. Max dimly heard the sound of chanting, and saw light gleam on the edge of a blade. Then the image faded. "St. Mary's," she whispered. She turned to Alec, her eyes wide. "The attack was just a diversion. We've got to get to St. Mary's. Now! Before they complete the ritual!" 

Max took off running in the direction of the cathedral, not bothering to wait for Alec and the others.

"Shit!" he swore and pounded after her, the X-6s a step behind.

He grabbed his com link to Terminal City and yelled into it, "Logan, it's Alec. Max needs all units to converge on St. Mary's Cathedral. Now! Do you copy?"

Logan's voice came through, tinny but clear. "Copy that. All units to St. Mary's. Alec, what's going on? Is Max ok?"

Alec saved his breath for running. Max was making incredible speed and she had outdistanced them all. He had a bad feeling about this. He had to catch up to her. There was no way he could let her face them alone.

Fear lent wings to Max's feet. The image of the knife poised above the young girl's throat drove her onwards. Faster and faster she ran, until it felt like she was skimming the ground, barely touching down at all. She dashed up the cathedral steps.

A single familiar was on guard duty. Max charged him so quickly she took him out before he had time to react. Quietly she opened the cathedral doors and slipped inside. She could hear them chanting. The ritual had begun.

The cathedral had been re-consecrated to the cult's dark worship. The pews had been shoved against the walls. The crucifix and the statue of the Virgin Mary – Ben's blue lady – had been toppled and lay smashed in the corner. Hangings covered in runes and sigils were draped along the walls. Candles were burning everywhere.

Hooded cult members formed a double ring around the altar. Children stood in the inner ring, adults on the outside. They were all chanting, their heads bowed and their eyes closed. On the altar lay the body of a young girl. She whimpered in terror and strained at her bonds. A snake lay coiled below her feet. The high priestess stood at her head, a ceremonial dagger resting across her open palms. The candlelight gleamed along the wicked edge of the blade. With her shaved head and tattooed face, the high priestess looked like one of the cult's sacred snakes.

"Fen'es tol!" the high priestess wailed, her voice rising above the chant. "Let it come to be! Let night cover the land, let darkness blanket the earth. Let fire rage and waters flow. Let plague and pestilence and famine purge the weak. As it has been foretold, so shall it be! The masters claim their dominion!" 

The priestess grasped the child's hair in one hand and titled her head back, exposing her neck. "Let the blood of the innocent open the gate. Fen'es tol!" She raised the dagger aloft and then plunged it downwards. 

Max blurred and darted between the rows of familiars, racing for the altar to stop the deadly plunge of that dagger. A pair of eyes snapped open and stared at Max in hatred. It was the young boy Max had encountered at the cult's school, after she'd been branded by the snake blood. He stepped forward to intercept. Faster than thought Max smacked him to the ground. She dodged past his unconscious body as it fell and leapt for the knife, knocking it from the high priestess's hands.

The priestess's eyes flew open and she screamed in rage. "Filth!" she hissed at Max. "Abomination! For your sacrilege, you will take the place of the offering! Seize her!" The cult members surged forward to mob Max. But before the first set of hands could grab her, gunshots rang out. Alec had arrived with several dozen transgenics.

Chaos ensued. The familiars howled in rage and threw themselves at the transgenics. At first the transgenics were badly outnumbered. They sought what cover they could and fired shot after shot into the crowd of familiars, or stood back to back in the middle of the cathedral floor and desperately parried blows. But more and more units arrived with each passing minute, until the cathedral floor was a seething mass of bodies.

The high priestess lunged at Max and the two of them grappled, their eyes locked together. But this was a battle of wills, not a contest of strength. The high priestess's lips curled back in a snarl, but Max stared at her with the calm, emotionless expression Manticore had given them.

Alec glimpsed White through the melee. He'd picked up the fallen dagger and was circling around the two women, preparing to strike at Max's unprotected back. Alec screamed her name and charged for the altar, shoving several familiars out of his way. Alec jumped and managed to land a flying kick to White's side before he could strike Max down. White stumbled backwards but didn't fall.

He grinned evilly. "So, you want to die first, 494? That can be arranged." 

White charged, slashing at Alec with the dagger. Alec twisted sideways to dodge the blade, but White moved faster than Alec expected. The dagger bit deep into Alec's left side, below his ribs. White laughed as Alec grimaced in pain. He swayed but managed to stay on his feet. 

Alec's left side went numb. He caught a faint whiff of something foul and bitter, like stagnant water. Poison. So be it, he thought to himself. Max was the only thing that mattered. He'd sworn to die to protect her, if need be. But he'd take that bastard down with him.

White advanced slowly, tossing the dagger from hand to hand. Alec grabbed one of the candelabra. Swinging it like a bat he caught White full in the face. He stumbled and dropped the dagger. It skidded across the floor and stopped at Max's foot. Neither she nor the high priestess appeared to notice. 

White grunted and shook his head to clear it. He was bleeding from a cut above his left eye. "I'm going to enjoy killing you, 494," he snarled. Alec dropped the heavy candelabra and looked around for another weapon. A gun lay on the floor several feet away. Alec dived for it, the impact with the floor causing him to grunt in pain. Arm outstretched, Alec grabbed the gun and rolled to his back. 

He fired at close range, hitting White directly in the chest. White staggered and nearly fell, and then continued to advance. Alec fired again and again, until White fell dead at his feet.

Alec tried to rise but his strength gave out and he collapsed back onto the floor. He turned his head towards Max, wanting her to be the last thing he saw before death.

Max and the high priestess were locked together in combat. Dimly Max was aware of the brawl raging around them, but it seemed unimportant and far away. The world had shrunk to the maddened eyes of the high priestess in front of her. Nothing else mattered beyond this moment. Her vision shimmered. Max knew she had a tight grip on the priestess, but suddenly she could no longer feel her there. It was as if she was standing on a high cliff in a desert, buffeted by a hot wind. Behind her somewhere was the edge of the cliff. The wind wanted her to topple over the edge and fall into blackness. She screamed defiance and refused to bend under the assault. 

And so they strained, each trying to dominate the other, to break her will and be proven the stronger. Bit by bit, Max felt herself weakening, being pushed back towards the cliff edge. She was operating on gut instinct alone, whereas the priestess had been training for this moment her entire life. But no one had taught the priestess to fight dirty. In a surprise move, Max broke eye contact and head-butted the high priestess, sending her crashing to the floor. 

The priestess screamed in rage and launched herself at Max, her hands curled into claws. Max calmly bent and retrieved the dagger from the floor at her feet. She stood and lunged forward, and stabbed the high priestess through the heart. The priestess screamed once in terror, and died.

A tremor shook the building. From nowhere came a strange gust of wind that caused the candles to gutter and go out. The hangings fell from the walls, allowing the sun to shine through the stained glass windows. 

Dawn had arrived.

----*----


	5. Entreaty

Max looked around her, dazed by her battle with the high priestess. She blinked her blurry eyes to clear her vision and saw Alec lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Her heart leapt into her throat and she ran to him.  She crouched at his side and ripped open his jacket to look at the wound. It was deep and the blood oozing from it was black. The wound had a strange, bitter smell.

"Poison…on the blade," Alec gasped, clearly in pain. He coughed weakly, and went pale as the movement painfully jarred his side.

 "Oh God, Alec!" Max cried in anguish, tears springing to her eyes.

"White would've…stabbed you…in the back," Alec said between breaths as he gasped for air. He reached up with one hand to touch her cheek. "I…love you…Max," he whispered.

Max choked back a sob and grasped his hand in hers. "Alec, don't!" she pleaded. "Don't die. I need you here." At that moment she admitted the truth to herself. What she'd told Logan to push him away, about needing to be with someone like her, it wasn't a lie. She needed Alec. Somewhere along the way he became indispensable to her. They were a perfect match. Why had she never realized it until now, when he lay dying?

Alec's breathing became more and more shallow. His eyes slid shut. Max stroked his forehead, and as she did so she caught sight of the runes that still covered her arms. "Sandeman knew this day would come," she whispered. "He made me immune. He must have!"

She reached for the knife Alec kept tucked in his boot, and slashed at her arm. She made a four inch incision down her wrist. The blood welled up and she pressed her wound against his, letting their blood mingle. Max stared at Alec's pale face, and willed him to live. 

Time slowed, and then stood still.

The battle was over. Weakened by the loss of their high priestess, the familiars had all been killed or subdued. The transgenics gathered in a loose circle around Max and Alec. They stood in mute witness as a life hung in the balance.

"Please don't let him die" she whispered over and over, a plea to Ben's blue lady. 

Long agonising moments later, Alec shuddered and opened his eyes. The waiting transgenics let out a collective sigh of relief. Alec raised his head to look at his side and saw Max's bloody arm pressed against his wound. He looked up at her.

"Blood for blood," she said, smiling through her tears. "You shed your blood to save me. I'm just returning the favour." She kissed him and then laid her head on his chest and cried. Alec held her close with trembling arms.

Time returned to its normal pace. The army burst into the cathedral and began to secure the scene. A medic hurried over and bound Alec's side and Max's wrist. She helped him to his feet. He was weak but able to stand on his own. 

Hand in hand they walked slowly out of the church. The rest of the transgenics filed out in neat rows behind them, fewer in number than when the night began.

Several camera crews were filming the scene from behind hastily erected barricades. One journalist yelled out "is it true the transgenics helped win back the city?"

Max stared directly at the cameras and said fiercely, "It's what we do. It's why we exist. They made us so people like you could sleep soundly in your beds at night…We're not your enemy. All we want is to be free, to have a place of our own."

----*----


	6. Aftermath

The soldiers hurried the weary transgenics into military troop trucks and transported them back to Terminal City. Alec went with the other wounded to the field hospital set up in one of the old medical facilities. The medics stitched his wound and found him a cot to sleep on, but he snuck out and headed for the main hall in search of Max.

As soon as he entered the room a hush fell over the crowd. In unison the transgenics rose to their feet and saluted him. Alec was taken aback and grinned nervously. Max hurried to his side.

"You're their hero," she said with a smile.

Unsure of how to respond, Alec retreated into his customary sarcasm. "Yeah, some hero. I got skewered."

"Exactly their point." Max wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him, so relieved to have him alive. Then she took him by the hand and pulled him over to a chair at the table. "Sit! You're probably not even supposed to be out of bed yet."

Alec grinned guiltily and sat next to Joshua. He'd been shot through the arm, but was otherwise unharmed. He grinned happily at Alec. "You saved little fella. You the bomb, Alec."

Alec shrugged. "Mole?" he asked. Joshua shook his head and looked away. "Shit," Alec muttered under his breath. 

Logan turned around in his seat to look at Alec. His eyes flicked down to Alec's side and then back up to meet his eyes. A dozen emotions floated across the hacker's face. Logan didn't know what to say. "Thank you" was inadequate and "stay away from Max" seemed inappropriate, given what Alec had done tonight. Alec stared back in silence. Knowing what was running through Logan's mind, he couldn't stop himself from smirking. Logan sighed and forced his attention back to the monitors. 

The clip of Max talking to the reporters outside the cathedral was playing over and over on every station, along with scenes of the battles fought all over the city.

----*----

Max stood alone under the flag they'd raised, and watched the sun set. The city was celebrating on both sides of the perimeter fence. She knew she should be happy – overnight the two greatest threats against her people had disappeared. The breeding cult had been smashed. Even if a few of the familiars had managed to evade capture, there weren't enough of them left out there to do any serious damage. And now the tanks were gone too. The commander had pulled his men back to base, as a gesture of good faith. Only the sector police were left to guard the perimeter, and Max knew they could easily slip by them, if they needed to get out of TC.

But it wasn't over yet. The tanks could always come back. The public was still suspicious, still afraid of them. True, they knew they'd been saved by the transgenics. Quite a few had given their lives defending the city, many of them children. But the public had also seen exactly what the transgenics were capable of doing, and it frightened them. What was to stop the transgenics from taking over themselves, if they really wanted to?

Max sighed. It was too much to expect all their problems to vanish overnight. Life wasn't like that. There were still a few hard-core nut cases carrying slogans outside their gate, but not many. At least there were no burning Xs tonight, and no angry mob trying to storm the fence. That was progress.

Max saw Lydecker pull up in his SUV. He stepped out of the car and looked up at her, silhouetted by the dying sun with the flag fluttering above her. He was proud of her. She looked thoughtfully at him for a minute, and then left the roof and descended to the street.

Alec was waiting for her. He smiled and draped his arm around her shoulders. Two days ago she would have shrugged his arm off in annoyance. Today it felt right. She slipped her arm around his waist.

"You do realize that along with saving my life you probably made me a carrier for the virus," he said sarcastically.

"Uh oh." Max looked stricken, but then she shrugged. What else could she have done? They'd just have to be extra careful around Logan.

"Yeah," Alec said, grinning. "Remind me not to shake his hand." 

They stood in silence. A million thoughts and plans raced through Max's tired brain. There was still so much to do. They had a society to build, from the ground up. Freak Nation. She sighed. She was so tired of having to have all the answers. She didn't want to carry the burden of command alone. But they hadn't talked about it yet. People said the strangest things when they thought they were dying.

As if in answer to her thoughts, Alec said quietly, "I'm not gonna take it back. I won't pretend I only said it cuz I was dying. You're the best person I know, Max. If it weren't for you, I'd still be inside Manticore, living half a life."

Her heart raced. "So where do we go from here?" she asked.

She sensed rather than saw him grin. "Anywhere we want."

_I will be your hero, baby_

_I will wash away your pain_

_I will stand by you forever_

_You can take my breath away_


End file.
